So. I've heard of people getting free pouches of tobacco, free cartons of milk, free raisin loaf, lol
This is my letter to Mars Chocolate, I'm not actually after anything for free. An acknowledgment of their error will be enough.

Dear Mars Chocolate,
I would like to congratulate you on your wonderful "Free Bars 1 in 6 wins" Promotion. I enjoy Snickers Bars very much, and the chance to win one for free, by purchasing another, is ever more tempting. The chance to win a free bar provides some fun in my day.

I am an Electrician - a Tradie, and nearly every morning my colleagues and I call into a local Delicatessen to purchase an Iced Coffee Milk and a Mars/Snickers for our morning break snack. I work for a company that employs several Tradesman and we all follow each other into the same delicatessen.

Whilst Snickers bars are very sweet and delicious, a slight grievance with a "Promoter", has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Between the 12th and the 16th of August 2013, I purchased a Snickers 53g bar from my local "DELI X, X ROAD, X, SA", which was adorned with the 1 in 6 Wins Promotional packaging. Upon carefully opening the Snickers bar, and devouring its contents, I realised that i had in fact won a 'Free Bar". I placed the wrapper in a safe place, so as to maintain it in good condition, and on the the 23rd of August 2013, i attempted to redeem the winning wrapper for a Free Bar at the very same deli, at which the Snickers Winning Wrapper Bar was originally purchased.

The attendant at the deli informed me upon presenting the winning wrapper "We do not buy into that (promotion) sic" and refused me the right to exchange my Winning Wrapper for a Free Bar. I then informed the attendant that infact, subject to the terms and condtions as set by Mars Chocolate, I was entitled to a

Free Bar. The Attendant showed me the wrapper, and pointed to the word "Participant" in the terms and conditions, and went on to explain how the Deli was not a participant in the 1 in 6 Bars Promotion.

My query is, how can the Deli in question, not be a "Participant" in the Promotion, after I purchased a Promotional Product from the Deli, (who is the"Promoter") ? After the transaction took place, and my money was given to the attendant, they were now a participant in the mechanics for redemption, as per Mars Chocolate's website http://www.marsfreebars.com.au/redemption.aspx .

At no point in time, during, before or after the transaction, was it disclosed to me the "Consumer", that I was unable to redeem "Free Bars" from that particular Promoter, nor was there any communication of ANY sort indicating the Deli was not a "Participant" in the competition.

After informing my work colleagues that they will have to travel far out of their way, to go to another "Promoter" in order to redeem their Winning Wrappers, my colleagues and I have heavily cut back on our Mars Chocolate consumption from that Deli.

Whilst I am aware I have grounds to pursue this further, with the ACCC, I believe this is simply a matter of Principle and Disclosure. Enclosed is my Winning Wrapper. I ask that you contact me to resolve this issue.

Well then you would lose that bet. Nah these folks are more Aussie than Steve Irwin fucking a Stingray whilst on the back of a Kangaroo with a Koala skin fur coat. All in the back seat of an XD Falcon.

Ive used letter writing and complaints lines to obtain free shit before, as u said tobacco pouches are a big one, also drinks and general preserved shit.

saved a pouch once, and filled it with the larger uncut pieces of tobacco from several other pouches over a number of months... then bought a new one, put all the old shit in new pouch and sent it in as a complaint claiming it was ridiculous they gave me scrap from the floor. i got a new pouch and a collector tin with two packets of B&H in it.

Another time (legitimate this time) i complained to a juice company as their tamper proof plastic seal had mould on the underside (juice side) when i pealed it off. Happened a number of times and complained, company wrote back saying they knew of the issue with their new seals and had replaced them, assuring me there would no longer be a problem. They sent me a $30 coles/myer card as a bribe. 6 months later i got said juice again and guess what, same seals, and mould again! icky!

Yeah I've heard of folks saving the "dregs" and getting free tobacco. Costs them nothing to do it pretty much, all of what we pay is excise tax. I've never complained to companies before, and wouldnt complain about something that didn't happen, but little things like the free bars thing really grind my gears. Hence the long ass letter over a fucking 2 dollar chocolate bar.

Thank you for your enquiry regarding MARS Free Bars Promotion. We are sorry that you had difficulty in redeeming your free bars and despite our plans and best intentions, it demonstrates that things can still go wrong.

Most retailers have been informed that they just need to keep their free wrappers and at the end of the promotion, Mars will reimburse them for that stock. We obviously expected therefore, that all of those retailers participating in the promotion would do so in good faith and redeem winning wrappers, as this would not affect their profitability. Unfortunately some of the retailers have decided not to participate in the promotion this year.

We regret the inconvenience that this has caused you and thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have included a voucher for you and hope that you continue to enjoy our MARS products despite this experience.

fluff all, $10. Apparently there is going to be a mention of this going to sales and marketing though, so retailers might get the choice of whether to "participate" or not. I argued the point, and the lady got stroppy because i didn't see things from their perspective. Quite comical, really.

What was that classic cola shit that was emblazoned in the hacker culture? Someone used to order the shit in stacks from overseas and resell it here and I think even to people at RUXCON. Someone will know this one.

God damn, why does this shit always happen to me? A copy of a transcript between me and Sony Corp re our 55" TV, which did a power supply after 6 months of having been bought...

Hi Jane,
I am emailing you in regards to our Sony TV, which finally arrived at our home on Friday 17th January 2014. Upon opening the carton's contents today, our TV is missing its remote controller, making it very difficult to do anything with. After ringing Telefix I have been informed that the controller has been located in the Adelaide office, and is according to the Customer Service Representative, 3 days away from arriving in XXXXX. The TV is covered in several fingerprint marks etc (I know its a small grievance, but that is not how it would have arrived to telefix originally).

I cannot believe that after having been notified of the problem nearly 3 months ago, and only actually performing 2 HOURS LABOUR on the TV, that they would do something as careless and stupid as leave the controller in Adelaide, some XXX Km away, especially given the time the TV sat in Telefix's office awaiting freight back to us, and the absolute debacle this entire exercise has been. We have just driven home from Adelaide, If it was known to me that it was not included in the parcel contents, I could have picked it up. The parts required to fix the TV totaled more than the worth of the TV itself - under Australian Consumer Law a replacement could have been issued, as could a refund have been given, which would have negated the inconvenience of us being without a usable TV for 3 months. As stated in ACL this was a major failure, as no reasonable consumer would have purchased a TV if they knew a Power Supply or "Panel" was going to fail in 6 months of use. Due to components in the TV having needed repair / replacement, it would not be unreasonable to ask for compensation as the TV could possibly fault again, due to the quality of the components fitted originally, not being of good quality, possibly reducing the value of the TV (I am aware that you issued an extension of Manufacturers Warranty to offset this). I would also argue that the time it took to perform the repairs (that is, notification of the problem, freight of the tv, diagnostics / repairs, and freight again) as part of the warranty, exceeded time deemed in the ACL as "reasonable".

This has been the worst experience we have ever had, in dealing with 2 professional organizations, in regards to a warranty claim. I am absolutely furious that after the amount of time we have waited (which has been absurd to begin with) , they have forgotten the remote control, practically rendering the TV useless until it arrives. The co-ordination and communication between Sony and Telefix has been lack luster to say the least, as evident by the time this exercise has taken. The way I have been treated by Telefix has been reprehensible and rarely did i feel like a customer, more of a nuisance who kept ringing up once a week. Sadly I was unable to have taken our business elsewhere as the TV was repaired in Adelaide.

I cannot STRONGLY recommend to you enough, that Sony Corporation change Telefix as it's Warranty Claims Contractor, I have never dealt with a more unprofessional organization in all my time. This is truly pathetic - If I was the owner of Telefix a number of employees would be finishing up this week. As I have made very clear to you on the phone, as an electrician I am often asked "What is the best brand of TV to buy", Clients who ask me this regard a TV as an investment rather than a consumable. Unfortunately, despite your (that's you Jane) very polite, compassionate and professional conduct, I will not be recommending your electrical products while Sony continues to contract it's warranty repairs to Telefix.

I am asking at this time, that you refrain from contacting me or my partner on via telephone and instead all communications be through email, should transcripts of this conversation need to be produced at a later date.